Childhood
by ITgwendolendragon
Summary: The gang is back together after nearly two decades apart. A lot has changed, some for the better, some for the worst. Follow them on their everyday lives as they try and raise their families and get to know each other all over again. (Shitty summary as usual).
1. Chapter 1

A/N – I don't know where I'm going with this story, I just started writing and this came out. It focuses on the lives of everyone in the show in the future and their families. I hope you enjoy and leave kind reviews, thank you.

Disclaimer – I don't own That 70's Show or any of its characters, just these OC's.

November 27, 1997

"Anton, would you please hurry up," Steven Hyde pleaded with his middle child, aged ten.

"I have to finish this really quick, just hang on," Anton said. He was playing a game on his computer that he thought was the coolest thing on the planet.

"You've been playing on this thing for three hours, we have to go, come on," Steven snapped, getting frustrated.

"I don't even want to go to the stupid game," Anton said, rapidly jabbing a key on the keyboard.

"It's the last game, you need to go," Steven said, trying to keep his frustration under wraps, "You can do this."

"If I go we're sure to lose," Anton said.

"Anton, don't be so hard on yourself," Steven said, trying to lift the boy's spirits.

"I'm not being hard on myself, I'm just telling the truth," Anton said calmly, sitting back in his chair after finishing a level in his computer game.

Steven sighed, "Come on, your sister wants you to go. She thinks highly of you. Besides, we have to go out anyway. We're going to a cookout later."

Anton looked up at his father, his eyebrows furrowed, "Why?"

"Because Jackie and Dan just moved back to town and I want to see them," Steven said, crossing his arms irritably, "Now get your ass up and get in the damn car."

Anton stared up at his father for a moment then said, "I haven't even showered today."

"You're going to be playing soccer, you don't need a shower," Steven said, grabbing the shoulder of his son's button down shirt and pulling him to his feet, "Just get in the car, we're going to be late."

Anton sighed, "Fine. I'm going."

Anton walked past his father and out the bedroom door. Steven sighed and ran a hand across his forehead, "It's going to be a long day."

0-0-0-0-0

"Come on, Anton! You can do it!" Leah, Steven's oldest yelled over the other parents cheering for their own children.

Leah was always supportive of her younger siblings, she was a nice young woman. Everybody liked her.

Anton was playing offense right now, the spot he was weakest in. He was just running up and down the field right now, no one bothering to pass the ball to him.

"Come on, buddy! You've got this!" Steven called, clapping, trying to give him a little confidence. Steven watched the game for a moment and eventually a foul was called, then Anton's coach called a time out, calling the young boy over to him.

Anton trudged over to him, looking a bit annoyed and very tired, also a little upset. The coach put a gentle, but somehow still firm hand on his shoulder before he spoke, "Show a little confidence out there, buddy."

Anton gave the coach a sort of glare, "Why? We're still gonna lose."

"Don't be so negative," The coach said, giving the boy a supportive look, "Can't you be confident? At least just a little?"

"Fine," Anton rolled his eyes before he looked out at the field briefly, "I'll try not to suck."

The coach sighed and shook his head a little, "Just try your best okay?"

Anton nodded but stayed silent.

"Alright, then go on. Get back out there," The coach said, trying to show support.

Anton ran back out onto the field and stood in his position, waiting for the ref to blow the whistle. After it was blown, the game was back in motion.

Steven looked back out at the soccer field and watched the game for a minute, then he saw the ball roll across to sit in front of his son's feet.

"Go, Anton, go!" Leah cried, standing up.

Anton started kicking the ball and running with it, a look a pure determination on his face for once. His legs moved faster than he thought was possible and as he neared the goal, his leg went back and he started to kick it forward and then—BAM!

Anton fell onto his back hard, all the air being kicked right out of his lungs. He started coughing hard and trying to find his breath, but he was panicking now, and it wasn't helping. He couldn't breathe.

"Shit," Steven cursed quietly to himself before he stood.

Steven clambered down the bleachers quickly, finding his way down the steps and going out onto the field. Steven ran fast as he tried getting to his son's side, sliding down onto his knees as he finally reached him.

Steven helped him into a sitting position and tried calming the boy down, "Anton. Look at me, look at me…"

The boy's anxiety ridden green eyes looked into his father's as his chest heaved as he sucked in sharp breaths.

"It's okay, you're fine. You fell, you're going to be okay," Steven said, rubbing his son's back soothingly, "Slow down you're breathing. Breathe in and out, slowly."

Steven directed his son for a few minutes, and eventually he calmed down a little.

Anton coughed as the air finally seemed to get into his lungs. Steven turned his head and glared at the ref who hadn't blown the whistle until the other team stole the ball and scored.

"What the hell? Why didn't you stop the game?" Steven called out, glaring at the ref, his eyes as sharp as daggers.

"I didn't see him there," The ref tried, but his excuse just made Steven even more furious.

"You didn't see him?" Steven cried incredulously, "He was tackled! He couldn't breathe!"

"I didn't see him," The ref repeated himself, shrugging.

Steven grit his teeth, "You didn't see him, my ass!"

"Dad…" Anton suddenly groaned out, garnering Steven's attention.

Steven saw the tears in his son's eyes and rolling down his cheeks, prompting him to ask, "What's wrong, buddy?"

"My leg," Anton sniffled, "It hurts."

Steven looked down at his son's leg, inspecting it to see if there were any bruises or scratches. His ankle was a little puffy and there was a scratch on it where the other kid's shoe had hit him.

"Okay, it's okay. Come on, let's go," Steven said, scooping up his ten year old into his arms.

After he got to his feet he started back towards his other two kids, but as he passed the ref he gave him a vicious glare. What a dick.

God, was this going to be a long day.

0-0-0-0-0

Steven ended up taking Anton to the emergency room where they told him that he just had a sprained ankle and that he'll be fine in a couple a days as long as he stays off of it.

Steven was thinking about just going to see Dan and Jackie tomorrow and get his son home, but Anton told him he still wanted to go because it would make his father happy. So after a bit of bickering with each other Steven decided they'd still go to the cookout.

They pulled into the Forman driveway around six o'clock that evening, the sun was already set. Steven felt bad for being late, but what could you do? He had a hurt child, they'd understand.

Jackie had gotten married the first time in 1981 to a man called Craig. Jackie had their son Brandon in the June of 1982, meaning he'd be fifteen now, the same age as Steven's daughter Leah. Craig was sick when him and Jackie got married with ALS and he died in early 1983. He told Jackie that she needed to move on and find herself someone else to make her happy. And she did, and that was Dan.

Dan and Jackie started dating in early 1984 and in late 1984 she gave birth to another son, Gregory. Gregory was a sickly looking boy who struggled with asthma. He wore round little glasses and always tucked in his shirt, Steven's seen the pictures. He was apparently very hyper active though and had an odd obsession with rodents. He had a pet hamster and a pet guinea pig, and he was currently begging for a rat.

In 1993 Jackie gave birth to a third boy named Tyler. He'll be turning four in a couple of days. Jackie says that Tyler is the happiest child there's ever been. He's always smiling and giggling and playing with his brothers. He liked playing on his father's guitar and he liked to play basketball with Gregory in the driveway.

And just a couple of years ago Jackie had her last child, a two year old named Kimi. Kimi was an odd name for a boy, but Jackie said she liked it. It was Finnish or something. He was oddly blond, doctors call it a mutation. Kimi had a collection of Hot Wheel's and liked watching Bear in the Big Blue House and the only food that mattered to him were Cheerio's.

Jackie had her first born son here in Point Place. Brandon, as Jackie states it, was a bit self-conscious, but what fifteen year old wasn't. He wasn't very athletic and didn't really enjoy sports in the first place. Jackie says he's very interested in learning everything he possibly could about his real father. Jackie says something's happened recently and Brandon and Dan don't seem to get along as much as they used to.

Jackie married Dan in 1985, a few months after Gregory was born. After they married, they moved out of Wisconsin and went to live in Las Vegas, but Jackie got relocated on her job and she moved back here to be closer to everyone she knew and loved.

So now here they were.

"I love this place," Leah commented, her arms crossed as she sat in the back seat with her little sister.

Steven smiled, "You say that every time we come here."

"That's because I love it so much," Leah smiled and looked out the window, looking up at Kitty and Red's house.

Steven rolled his eyes, "Come on, let's go."

The family of four got out of the car and started towards the house. It was supposed to be a cookout, but they've probably already ate.

Steven took his kids up to the doorstep, Leah carrying Anton in her arms so he didn't have to apply pressure to his ankle.

Steven rang the doorbell and then stepped back, waiting for the door to be answered.

"Do Jackie and Dan have any kids my age?" Anton asked.

"They have Gregory, but he's a couple of years older than you," Leah said, remembering her father talk about her Aunt Jackie and her family, "But I've heard he's a good friend and likes pretty much everyone."

Anton nodded in understanding.

"Cool," He said quietly.

"No, it's fine, Mrs. Forman, I got it," Steven heard Jackie's voice say behind the closed door.

And then, suddenly, the door opened, revealing Jackie Burkhart, or now Jackie Rose, who immediately beamed when she saw Steven, "Steven! Oh my God!"

She immediately hugged her old friend tightly, so very happy to see him. Steven smiled into his friends shoulder as he returned the hug.

"How've you been?" Jackie asked as she finally pulled away.

"I've been doing fine," Steven said, shrugging.

"I heard about what happened," Jackie said, frowning now, "Between you and Rainy. I'm really sorry."

Steven shrugged it off, "Well, you know. What's in the past is in the past. I'm moving on. I'll be fine."

Jackie felt a little awkward now bringing that up, but she noticed Steven's kids standing behind him, "These must be your kids you're always going on about."

Steven smiled and looked back at his kids, "Yep. This is Leah, my oldest. She's fifteen."

"Hi," Jackie smiled, shaking Leah's hand, "It's very nice to meet you. What happened to this little guy?"

"He got hurt at his soccer game today," Leah said, looking down at her little brother.

"I'm okay," Anton suddenly chirped, smiling a small smile up at Jackie.

"You're Anton, right?" Jackie asked and Anton nodded, "Well, it's very nice to meet you."

"You too," Anton smiled, shaking Jackie's hand like the little gentleman he was.

Jackie then looked over at the youngest child who was holding her father's hand, who didn't seem to know what was going on, "Lizzie, right?"

The girl nodded, pushing a strand of blonde hair out of her face. Lizzie was only two and a little shy around new people, she'd come around, eventually.

"Well it's very nice to meet you Lizzie," Jackie smiled at the little girl, wiggling her fingers at the child.

Lizzie shyly hid behind her father, but wiggled her little finger's back.

"Well, uh, come on in," Jackie smiled, moving out of the way, "Dan's in the kitchen with the others. You know your way around."

Steven nodded as he and his children walked in past Jackie. They quickly made their way into the kitchen, seeing Eric, Dan, Fez and Kelso all standing around chatting.

"Hey Dan," Steven smiled, garnering the men's attention.

"Steven," Dan smiled, shaking Steven's hand, "I'm glad you could make it."

"Yeah, sorry we're late," Steven said as he pulled away from the handshake after a moment, "Had a little mishap at Anton's soccer game."

"Well, that's okay," Dan smiled, looking over at the young boy in Leah's arms, "The kids always come first."

Steven then quickly introduced his kids to Dan before he started chatting with his old friends and catching up. Leah had taken Anton and Lizzie into the living room so they could rest and maybe socialize a bit. Donna was in there talking to Kitty, so they could keep a watchful eye on them.

Most of the kids seemed to be in here. The little kids anyway. Jackie's kids were in here, well, three of them were anyway. She saw Gregory, she remembers him from the pictures. He was staring intently at something on the TV, seeming extremely interested. Then there was the nearly four year old Tyler playing with some Hot Wheels with his little brother Kimi.

Fez's two youngest kids were in here. Seven year old Diego, who was listening to some music on his MP3 player, dancing to it. The kid had rhythm. He's been taking ballet and tap since he was three, and now he was learning salsa. He was good at it already, too.

Fez's youngest was also here, playing with the Hot Wheel's with Tyler and Kimi.

Kelso only ever had one kid and that was Betsy, who was now eighteen years old. She graduated high school in May, whereas Leah just started it in August.

Eric and Donna had two kids as well, but they were older as well. Their oldest was Christina and she was seventeen. She was on the swim team and she's been told to keep going at it, and if she did she could compete in the 2000 Summer Olympics.

Their other kid, he wasn't as impressive and accomplished as Christina. His name was Eddie and Eddie had a knack for getting into trouble. He was Leah's age and has been arrested several times for stealing, fighting and once for public indecency. Eddie just didn't care, and Leah liked that about him. That why he was her best friend. She tries getting him to stop his illegal activities, but he never seems to listen.

Leah decided she'd go downstairs to the basement and see what Eddie was up to. He was probably just watching the TV on mute as usual while Metallica blares through the speakers of his radio.

"Hey, Anton," Leah said to her younger brother, making him look up at her, "At least try and socialize, okay? There's that boy right next to you, talk to him."

Anton looked over at Gregory slightly, careful not to make eye contact before he looked back at his sister and nodded, sighing nervously.

Leah smiled down at him and ruffled his hair before she turned and started towards the basement. She went down the stairs quickly once she heard the heavy metal guitar blaring through the speakers. Yep, as usual, Eddie was down here.

Leah reached the bottom of the stairs and was greeted by all the other teens. Christina was chatting with Betsy by the door, Fez's step-daughter Suzuka was also here, but she was playing her game boy whilst she sat in the chair a few feet away from the couch where Eddie was sat, arms crossed and staring at the muted television.

Leah smiled and stepped over to the couch, jumping over the back of it and planting herself next to her best friend.

"Hi Eddie," Leah chirped cheerfully, giving him an exaggerated happy smile.

Eddie looked over at Leah, but he didn't smile and he kept his arms crossed, "Oh, hi Leah. What's going on?"

Leah shrugged, "Not much. My brother sprained his ankle."

"Bummer," Eddie said, watching the TV intently, "Is he alright?"

Leah nodded, "Doctor said he'll be fine in a couple of days, he just needs to stay off of it."

"Well, that's good," Eddie said.

Leah nodded and hummed, looking around. This room was so 70's it was sickening. Red and Kitty hadn't changed a thing since her Uncle Eric was a teenager. Eric's old records were even still here. They were over by the—Hey, who's that?

Leah saw a boy, around her and Eddie's age, sitting on the floor by the record player, a pile of about ten to fifteen records in his lap as he looked at the track listing on the back of the one in his hand. It was a Rolling Stones album, Leah didn't know which one.

He had dark, nearly shoulder length hair and dark eyes. He seemed quite interested in those records, studying the back and front very deeply.

Leah nudged Eddie, "Hey, who's that?"

Eddie looked down at Leah for a minute, as if trying to comprehend what she had just said before he finally turned and looked at the boy behind them on the floor, "Who? That freak over there?"

Leah nodded, smiling a tiny bit, wanting to know who he was really badly, "Yeah. Who is he?"

Eddie turned back to the TV, "That's that Jackie woman's son, Brandon I think is his name. He's barely said three words since he got here. The kid's a nut job."

Leah hummed in curious suspicion before she stood, "I'm gonna go talk to him."

Eddie nodded, "Yeah, you do that."

Leah went around the couch and slowly approached the boy. She stuffed her hands in the pockets of her jeans as she stopped to stand in front of him, he didn't even seem to notice she was there.

"Hey," Leah said, making him flinch a little bit.

He looked up at the girl, not even cracking a smile and said, "Hey," before he looked back down at the record cover in his hands.

"I'm Leah, what's your name?" She asked politely, smiling down at him.

"Brandon," He said simply. He seemed annoyed. Leah wondered why.

Leah looked down at the record in his hands, which prompted her to ask, "You like the Rolling Stones?"

Brandon shrugged, "They're alright. I always liked the Beatles better."

Leah nodded, "Yeah, me too."

Leah had all of the Beatles records at her house stored in a large bookshelf in her bedroom. She loved the Beatles, along with an array of other artists from 50's to the present.

"You got a favorite?" Leah asked.

Brandon looked up at her, his brow furrowed curiously, but the annoyance was still in his eyes, "A favorite what?"

"Band, musician," Leah said, as if it were obvious.

Brandon looked back down at the record, but he answered her question, "The Smiths… What about you?"

"Blur," Leah replied.

Brandon gave her a look, as if that were the worst answer, "You like that Brit-Pop crap?"

Leah smiled and crossed her arms, "Yeah, I do. You got a problem with that?"

The corner of Brandon's mouth twitched and he smiled a little bit, "Its shit."

Leah smiled a little wider now, "Well, at least they're not always singing about how they're depressed."

"Yeah, alright," Brandon said, looking away again.

"Y'know," Leah started, shifting her weight onto one foot, "I've got a bunch of records at my place, maybe you can come by sometime and check 'em out?"

Brandon looked up at Leah again, "It's not all poppy is it?"

Leah shook her head, "There's a wide variety of music there."

Brandon nodded a little, "Yeah, alright. Maybe I'll stop by sometime."

Leah beamed, "Great."

0-0-0-0-0

Steven was currently standing outside with Jackie, Jackie wanted to step out for a minute and get some fresh air, and Steven sensed there was something wrong, so he followed her. She seemed a little off, something was bothering her.

"So Anton plays soccer, huh?" Jackie asked, leaning against the railing of the front porch.

Steven nodded, "Yeah. He wants to quit though, and since today was his last game he's probably going to."

"Brandon used to play sports when he was little," Jackie said, "He played them all. Football, baseball, soccer… He quit every one of them."

Steven furrowed his brow, "Why? He didn't like them?"

"He sucked at them," Jackie replied, turning her head to look at her longtime friend, "He's never been good at sports. He used to want to play them so he could fit it."

"Yeah, Anton's the same way," Steven said, trying to make her feel a little better, "He wants to be popular, so he's trying pretty much everything."

"Popular? Isn't he in like, the fifth grade?" Jackie asked, her brow burrowed.

Steven nodded, "School's changed a lot since we were there."

Jackie nodded, "Yeah, I guess so… How long's it been now? Eighteen years?"

"Nineteen for me and the others," Steven said, "Remember, you're a year younger than the rest of us."

"It seems like forever ago," Jackie said, smiling sadly, "I remember the most important thing used to be my hair and my clothes. Now I'm raising four kids who always seem to be out of control."

Steven had to ask, he had to figure out what was bothering her, "What's wrong, Jackie?"

Jackie sighed, shrugging a little bit, "Gregory's getting into trouble at school all the time, Kimi keeps talking about wanting to race…"

"Race?" Steven asked, raising an eyebrow, "Like track?"

Jackie shook her head, "No, go karts."

"Oh," Steven said, "Well, he's only two. He can't start racing until he's older, right?"

Jackie shook her head, "I looked it up the other day. The greatest racing drivers started early, most of them when they were in elementary school, but a few started when they were three."

"Well, maybe he'll change his mind," Steven assured, hoping it make her feel a little better at least.

Jackie shook her head, "Did you know Fez's son races?"

Steven frowned and nodded, "Arthur? Yeah."

"And how long has he been racing?" Jackie asked.

Steven shrugged, "I don't know, about two years."

"He's five, Steven, five," Jackie said, "He started when he was three, Kimi will be three in June…"

"Well, if it makes you feel any better," Steven started, "Arthur's a pretty good driver. He's never come first place, but he's not bad. He won third place last weekend."

"Is it safe?" Jackie asked nervously.

"For three year olds?" Steven asked, "Yeah. They can only go so fast and they don't generally race. It's usually just teaching them how to drive. That's how Arthur started out anyway."

"When do they start actually racing?" Jackie asked.

"Arthur started when he was four," Steven said, "They usually teach them how to drive for about six months or so and then they get them out on the track. But even still, they don't go that fast, they're only four."

Jackie sighed, "Dan thinks this is a good thing. He's already started looking into it, and there's a track for kids about an hour or so away from here. He said he's going to go and talk to the guys there soon and get some information. He thinks Kimi could be a NASCAR driver, all my luck he'll be Formula 1. Do you know how much more dangerous that is than NASCAR?"

"Jackie. Jackie calm down," Steven tried, putting a gentle hand on her shoulder, "He's two. Maybe he'll race for a year and get bored with it? You don't know what he's going to do in his future. He'll probably end up like everybody else. He'll go to college and get a degree in some weird job and do that. Being a race car driver is every little boy's dream, trust me. He'll be fine."

Jackie sighed and ran her hands across her face, "He's not even my biggest problem," Jackie looked up at Steven, sending him a pleading look, "Brandon's out of control."

"What's wrong with Brandon?" Steven asked on concern for both her and her family.

"I don't know, that's what I'm trying to figure out," Jackie shrugged her shoulders, "He's always arguing with Dan, he tries faking sick to get out of school, he barely speaks to anyone anymore and when he does he's yelling. I haven't seen him laugh or smile in so long. Somethings wrong, I'm worried about him."

"Well…" Steven didn't know what to say, "What can I do to help?"

Jackie's hazel colored eyes locked with Steven's, her eyes pleading. She was just wanting somebody to help her, "I need you to help me. Can you do that?"

Steven didn't know how he would help her or if he even could, but for some reason he still said, "Yes."


	2. Chapter 2

A/N – Hello follower! Here's a brand new chapter for you, I hope you enjoy it.

Disclaimer – I don't own That 70's Show or any of its characters, just these OC's.

November 30, 1997

"This is bullshit," Brandon said as he sat in the backseat with his siblings, "I told you I felt sick and you're still making me go to school."

"If you're well enough to complain about everything then you're well enough to go to school," Jackie said.

"Mommy, Brandon said a bad word," Tyler said from his car seat.

"I know sweetie," Jackie replied as she looked in the review mirror at her oldest son, "I took your temperature before we left, you're not sick. You're fine. So please, get out of the car, I have to get Greg and Tyler to school and Kimi to daycare so I can go to work. It's my first day and I'd rather not be late."

Brandon sighed and sat still in his seat, not even making a move to get out of the car. Jackie sighed and ran a hand across her face as he looked out the window. She saw a familiar face up at the front of the school a little ways, prompting her to say.

"Hey look, its Steven's daughter, Leah," Jackie suddenly said, smiling a little.

"What? Where?" Brandon suddenly said, sitting up a little, looking out the window.

Jackie smiled as Tyler chirped up, "Brandon and Leah sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G."

"Can it, squirt," Brandon snapped, but all Tyler did was stick his tongue out at his oldest brother.

"You got a thing for the Hyde girl, huh?" Gregory asked, smiling smugly.

"No, I don't," Brandon defended, crossing his arms, "We just happen to have a similar taste in music, that's all."

"Yeah, sure," Gregory smiled, looking down at his hands in his lap, "I've never heard that much excitement for two people liking the same music."

"Shut up, Greg," Brandon snapped.

"Hey look, here she comes," Jackie said and Greg rolled the window down on his side of the car.

Leah approached the car with a smile on her face and said, "Hi Mrs. Rose, how are you this morning?"

"I'm good, how are you?" Jackie replied, smiling back at the nice young girl.

"I'm fine, thank you," Leah smiled, seeing Brandon in the back seat, making her wave at him, "Hi Brandon."

"Hi," Brandon said, trying to keep his annoyed attitude up.

Leah looked back at Jackie, "I can show him around the school if you'd like. We still got about half an hour before the first class starts, he still needs to go to the head office too."

Jackie nodded, "Yeah, that'd be great. Wouldn't it Brandon?"

"Yeah, that's great," Brandon said, but he caught himself, "I mean, you know, I don't really care."

Greg scoffed and Jackie gently smacked him on the side of the head, "Hey, what the—"

Jackie sent him a warning look and he quickly quietened down, "Well, go on Brandon. You don't want to be too late."

Brandon sighed and finally grabbed his backpack before he started to get out of the car. Finally. Jackie thought.

Brandon closed his door and walked around the car to stand by Leah and Jackie said, "Have a good day, sweetheart."

Brandon nodded, not looking into his mother's eyes, "I will, Mom."

Jackie, sensing he didn't want her hanging around much longer, decided it would be best to get going, "Well, okay. I'll see you after school."

"Okay," Brandon said, urging her to leave silently.

"I love you," Jackie said, smiling.

"Mom," Brandon urged, giving her an annoyed and slightly embarrassed look.

Jackie smiled though, "Alright then, see you later, honey."

Then, after waving to the two teenagers, Jackie pulled away from the school and started towards the middle school to drop off Greg.

0-0-0-0-0

"And here's your first class," Leah said, finishing up her tour of the school, "And look at that, we share it."

Brandon looked down at the sheet of paper in his hand that told him each class he had to take at which times before he stuffed it in his pocket and said, "I've always sucked at Science."

Leah shrugged, "I'm not that great at it either. Don't worry, you'll do fine."

Brandon rolled his eyes, "Yeah right."

Leah nudged Brandon's arm with her own, "Don't be so hard on yourself. It's really not so bad. Besides, all you need to pass it a D, so…"

"Is that what you're getting?" Brandon asked curiously.

"I'm getting a C," She replied as she smacked on her chewing gum, "I'm getting a D in algebra, which we do not share because it looks like you have Trigonometry. You must be gifted."

Brandon furrowed his brow, "What? Why would you say that?"

Leah scoffed and rolled her eyes, "Come on, no freshman takes Trigonometry. That's a Junior/Senior thing."

Brandon peered into the classroom and looked around at everyone. Everyone was pretty much just screwing around. Some kids were throwing paper, some kids were talking, there was even one kid sleeping in the back.

"My teachers always wanted me to take advanced math classes," Brandon explained, adjusting his shoulders a bit, "I didn't really like it though, I had to sit with all the older kids. I told my mom I didn't want to do that here, but I guess she doesn't care."

Leah shrugged, "Parents can be a pain in the ass. My dad's a bit strict."

"Your dad is?" Brandon asked, seeming surprised by this, "My mom's always told me he was real laid back and didn't really care about anything."

"I guess all that changes when you become a parent," Leah guessed, "We better get sat down before we get in trouble. Come on."

Leah grabbed Brandon's wrist and dragged him into class. As they walked in a few kids looked up at them, one boy in particular whistled.

"Leah, you got yourself a new boyfriend already?" A boy with dark hair and hazel colored eyes asked. He seemed like the guy you would assume was a jock.

"He's not my boyfriend, Ace," Leah replied, but she still kept her fingers locked around Brandon's wrist.

"Yeah, I can see that," 'Ace' remarked, smiling in an annoyed type of way. Did they use to go out or something? Brandon asked himself.

Leah finally released Brandon's hand and sort of glared at Ace before she said, "Come on, Brandon, there's a couple of seats back here."

Leah stepped past Ace, but as Brandon went to follow her Ace stood up and sized Brandon up at bit, as if Brandon were his new competition.

"So your name's Brandon?" Ace asked, holding out his hand, "Nice to meet you, kid. I'm Ace, but I'm sure you already knew that."

Brandon looked down at Ace's hand in disgust. This guy was cocky. And arrogant. Those two traits were never appealing.

"How's it going, Ace?" Brandon asked, but he never shook his hand, "You seem a little upset. Is something wrong?"

Ace frowned now, his eyes showing a hint of anger, but he kept his cool, "I'm not upset. I'm just fine. I just wanted to meet my ex girl's new friend, that's all. I just want to make sure she's hanging out with the right people."

That seemed controlling.

"Ace, you don't tell me who I can and can't hang out with," Leah suddenly said, making Ace turn to look at her, "Leave him alone."

"I'm not even messing with him, it's all good here," Ace said, holding his hands up defensively.

Leah glared up at her ex-boyfriend, "The last time you said that you gave Jimmy a bloody nose. Now back off."

Ace frowned again, but he did as she asked, "Fine."

The guy sat back down in his chair and leaned back in it, trying to get relaxed. Leah started back towards the back of class again, Brandon following her. As Brandon was about to pass Ace, Ace stuck his leg out in the way of the new kid, so as Brandon passed him he tripped over his leg and fell to the floor with a loud thud, dropping his Science books all over the place.

The kids in the class laughed, all except for Leah, who turned and started helping Brandon up.

"Ace, what the hell?!" Leah snapped, glaring hard at her ex.

Ace just smiled though and shrugged, "What? It's just a joke. He's the new kid, I needed to break him in."

"Well, are you done?" Leah asked irritably.

Ace shrugged, "I don't know. Maybe."

Leah had already gathered Brandon's books for him and was now helping him to his feet. She grabbed his hand and pulled him and he winced as stood, prompting Leah to ask, "Are you okay?"

Brandon nodded after a minute of adjusting his arm, "Yeah, I just landed on my arm funny, I'll be fine."

Leah nodded, "Okay, here."

She handed him his books as he passed her and went to sit down. He looked upset, but he didn't say anything. Ace noticed this as well.

"What? Are you going to cry?" Ace asked, a little surprised by this.

Brandon glared at him, "No."

Ace stuck out his bottom lip and pouted, "Did I hurt your feelings?"

Brandon turned to look away, "Shut up."

Ace laughed in a way that annoyed Brandon as he turned back around in his seat to face the front of the classroom, "Pussy."

Brandon felt everyone's eyes on him, making his face heat up in embarrassment. So he hid his face in his arms that were rested on his desk and just waited for the teacher to arrive.

So far, this was a pretty shitty day, but what was new?

0-0-0-0-0

"So, any ideas?" Jackie asked her husband after a long rant about her oldest son.

Dan was leaning against the counter, his arms crossed as he shrugged, "I don't think there's anything wrong with him."

Jackie sighed and ran her hands down her face. She took of work for this? To get absolutely nowhere?

"Dan, he's acting different," Jackie said, stepping towards her husband, "Don't you notice that?"

Dan shrugged, "He's fifteen, Jackie. Of course he's acting different."

Jackie shook her head, "His entire personality has changed. He's awkward, he's quiet, he's always grumpy."

"He's always been awkward," Dan said. He was acting like this was no big deal.

"Yeah, but he used to make jokes, he used to laugh more," Jackie said, trying to get her husband to understand, "He's not eating like he used to. He used to eat all the time, now he's… He eats like a bird. Does he seem thinner to you?"

"Okay, now you're just overreacting," Dan said, stepping towards Jackie.

"Am I, Dan? Am I?" Jackie cried, annoyed and worried.

"Yes, you are," Dan said, resting his gentle hands on Jackie's shoulders, "He's eating just fine, he's sleeping normally, he's getting plenty of exercise, everything is fine. He's probably just having trouble getting used to high school. I mean, everything's different there, it's harder. He might be a little stressed. Have you tried talking to him?"

Jackie shrugged, "I did once, but he got mad and told me to leave him alone."

"And why did you leave him alone?" Dan asked.

"Because he told me to," Jackie said quietly, as if she were ashamed.

"If it's bothering you this much, we can get him a therapist," Dan offered, "Would that make you feel better?"

Jackie shook her head, "I can barely get Brandon to go to school, I don't think he'd be up for going to a therapist. Besides, he's already stressed enough, we don't need to add more baggage to this."

Dan actually seemed relieved to hear that, Jackie didn't really know why. Maybe he didn't want to spend so much money on a therapist for Brandon.

Jackie sighed through her nose, "I just don't know what to do."

Dan smiled sweetly at Jackie, trying to get her to calm down as he rubbed her arms soothingly, "I'll talk to him if you want me to."

Jackie looked her husband in the eyes in surprise, "Really? You think you can get him to talk?"

Dan nodded, "Yeah, I think I can. Maybe he needs a man to talk to. Maybe he's having boy issues, I mean, he is fifteen."

Jackie nodded, "You're right. Maybe he's having teenage boy problems. It probably is awkward to talk to his mother about those things."

Dan snickered and nodded, "Yeah, probably."

"Well, alright," Jackie sighed again, "You'll talk to him tonight?"

Dan nodded and kissed Jackie on the top of the head, "Yeah, I'll do it tonight."

Jackie nodded, "Okay. Thank you."

"Don't mention it."

0-0-0-0-0

Brandon put his math books back in his locker irritably. He hated it here. Why did they have to come here? It was horrible.

"Hey, how was Trigonometry?" Brandon heard Leah's familiar voice, causing him to flinch.

Brandon looked to his right and saw the girl stopping and standing next to him. Brandon sighed and closed his locker before he turned to look at Leah, "Stupid and pointless."

Leah giggled, "I say the same thing every day about this entire place."

Brandon didn't seem amused by her jokes, so he just said, "What do you want?"

Leah frowned and furrowed her brow curiously, "What do you mean?"

Brandon rolled his eyes and simply said, "Shouldn't you be hanging out with your boyfriend?"

"Boyfriend? You mean Ace? We're not together," Leah corrected him.

"You mean not anymore?" Brandon said as he turned and started walking away.

"What? Brandon!" Leah called, going after him. She grabbed the sleeve of his jacket and pulled him back to face her, "Brandon stop. What's wrong?"

Brandon looked into her eyes for a brief second before he looked down the hall, "Why are you trying to be my friend?"

Leah seemed confused by this, "What? What do you mean? I like you, why wouldn't I want to be your friend?"

Brandon thought she would know why, now he'd have to explain it to her, "You used to date a jock, Leah. Obviously you fit in around here. I'm not like that. I'm a freak, a nobody. The only people who noticed me in my old school were the kids who wanted to beat me up, not… Not girls like you."

"Okay, so?" Leah asked. Why did this bother him so much?

"So, I'd rather be the kid who nobody thinks about or even notices," Brandon said, "Everything was easier then."

Brandon started to walk again, but Leah grabbed his hand this time and pulled him back, but this time she didn't let him go, "Is this about what happened in science earlier?"

Brandon didn't answer her, he just looked away.

Leah smiled, as if this wasn't that big of a deal, "Brandon, Ace is a jerk. Don't blame yourself for his actions."

"It's not about that," Brandon defended, seeming agitated by everything at the moment.

Leah furrowed her brow, "Then what's it about?"

Brandon looked down at his feet and adjusted his shoulders, "It's about what happened afterwards."

"What happened afterwards?" Leah asked curiously.

Brandon looked Leah in the eye again, "Really?"

Leah nodded, getting annoyed now herself, "Yeah, really."

Brandon sighed and tried keeping his emotions at bay, "I almost cried in front of the whole class."

He said it quietly, so no one besides them could hear. His face became red when he mentioned it.

"So?" Leah said, not seeing the issue here.

"So, men don't cry," Brandon said, as if it were obvious.

Leah seemed annoyed by that, "Says who?"

"Says Dan," Brandon said.

He pulled his hand out of Leah's and finally broke free of her grasp before he turned on his heel and walked down the hall, leaving Leah behind.

0-0-0-0-0

The family sat around the dinner table that night, and it seemed a little quiet. Quieter than usual. Jackie had made spaghetti, because it was simple and she just wasn't feeling like cooking anything extravagant tonight.

Kimi was eating up as usual, as was Greg, and Tyler was being picky as usual. Brandon had eaten about half of it, but was now just twirling the noodles around on his fork, his cheek rested in the palm of his hand.

"Are you alright, sweetie?" Jackie asked, a habit she had every time one of the kids was acting a little off.

Brandon stayed silent, as if he hadn't even heard the question. Dan looked between Brandon and his wife and he noticed Jackie seemed a little hurt that he hadn't responded, so Dan looked over at the boy and snapped, "Brandon, you're mother asked you a question."

Brandon flinched and looked up at Dan and then over at his mother before he quickly and quietly said, "I'm fine."

So he had heard her.

As Brandon looked back down at his plate Jackie sort of glared at her husband, as if telling him he didn't need to be so grumpy, but all Dan did was shrug, as if he'd done nothing wrong.

"Seriously, are you okay?" Greg asked after examining his brother for a moment, "I mean, you're usually kind of moody, but this is more than usual. Did you get your face shoved in a toilet or something?"

Brandon glared at his brother, "Shut up, Greg."

"So how was your day, son?" Dan suddenly asked Greg, trying to break the tension in the room.

Greg looked up at his father and quickly responded with a smile on his face, "I had a great day! After fourth period this one guy tried to beat me up, so I had to run away, and the coach for the track team asked me if I had ever ran track before and he asked me if I'd be interested. Oh, and I also met this girl. Her name was Olivia."

Dan smiled proudly at his oldest biological son, "Well, that's great son."

Brandon suddenly dropped his fork onto his plate, making it make a clanking sound before he stood and threw his napkin down onto the table.

"Brandon, are you okay?" Jackie asked as the boy started to walk away.

"I'm not hungry," He called as he started to leave the room.

"Are you sure?" Jackie asked in a concerned way.

Brandon nodded, "I'm just going to go and finish up unpacking."

"Well, okay," Jackie said and then she heard his footsteps heavily go up the stairs.

Dan and Jackie made eye contact and Dan asked, "Should I go and talk to him?"

Jackie was about to respond, but the doorbell rang, making everyone in the room quiet. Jackie set her napkin down on the table after wiping her mouth and stood, "I'll get it. You guys go ahead and eat."

The others quietly did as she said as she left the room and went to the door. She sighed heavily and forced a smile as she opened the door and on the other side was Steven Hyde's daughter, which surprised Jackie for some reason.

"Leah, hi," Jackie smiled, slumping her shoulders, "What can I do for you?"

Leah smiled at Jackie, but Jackie could tell it was forced, "Hi, Mrs. Rose. Is Brandon home?"

Jackie smiled a little bigger and nodded, "Yes, he is. Do you want me to go and get him?"

Jackie started to step back inside, but Leah shook her head, "No. No, actually… I wanted to talk to you."

"Oh," Jackie said, starting to step out onto the porch, "Well, what is it, sweetheart?"

"It's about Brandon, actually," Leah whispered, as if she only wanted Jackie to hear this, and she did.

"Brandon? What happened?" Jackie asked, stepping completely out now and closing the door behind her.

"Why? Did he say something?" Leah asked curiously. Maybe he told his mom about what happened today?

But Jackie shook her head, "No. He's just been… Off. More than usual."

"Oh, well…" Leah trailed off. She wasn't really good with stuff like this, but this could be a problem. Brandon might need help, "Brandon had a bit of a bad first day."

Jackie frowned, "What happened? Did somebody shove him into his locker again?"

Leah shook her head, "What? No. But… Somebody tripped him in class today."

"Somebody tripped him or did he trip? Brandon can be quite clumsy," Jackie admitted.

"He was tripped," Leah responded, stuffing her hands in her jean pockets, "It was the guy that I kind of used to date. He's a real jerk."

"Is this why he's been acting like this today?" Jackie asked. That didn't seem right. Brandon's had bullies before, but they've never bothered him this badly.

Leah shook her head, "No, it's something else. You see, I talked to him after second period and he was kind of mad, and I thought he was mad at me, but… I think he was mad at… himself."

"What? Why would he be mad at himself?" Jackie asked, seriously concerned for his son now.

Leah shrugged, "I don't know. He told me he didn't know why I would want to be friends with him because he was always the 'freak' or the 'nobody' and apparently he liked it that way."

Jackie shook her head, "That doesn't seem right."

"Well, that's what he said," Leah replied, "But, I don't think that was it either."

"What else happened?" Jackie asked. It seems like Brandon had a pretty shitty day so far.

"He told me after he was tripped in class he was so embarrassed he almost cried," Leah said, adjusting her shoulders awkwardly, "And I asked him why that bothered him so much and he told me it was because men don't cry."

"What?" Jackie asked. Brandon didn't generally cry, he wasn't really a crying type of kid. Or so Jackie thought, "Who told him that? That's ridiculous."

Leah looked at Jackie, as if this next part was going to seriously hurt her, "He told me Dan told him that."

Jackie didn't really know what to say, so she just said, "What?"

Leah shrugged again, feeling like she was going to get in trouble now, and this would probably come back around to bite her in the ass eventually, "I'm just telling you what he told me, I hope it helps. I want to help him. Really, I do. So, uh, here…" Leah pulled a small shred of paper out of her pocket and handed it to Jackie, "That's my phone number. If he ever wants to just talk, tell him to call, okay?"

This warmed Jackie's heart a bit. This girl generally did care about Brandon. Maybe he had a friend after all.

"Okay, I will," Jackie smiled, but it was still forced. Now she needed to talk to Dan, and she wasn't really looking forward to it, "Thank you. For telling me."

Leah smiled sweetly and nodded, "No problem."

And then she walked away, hopeful that Brandon would call. Jackie looked down at the paper in her hand before she turned on her heel and walked back inside. She needed to talk to her husband.

0-0-0-0-0

After the kids had all gone upstairs to their rooms, after Kimi and Tyler were sleeping, and after Greg and Brandon were playing video games or whatever it was teenagers do, Jackie finally had Dan alone. He had washed the dishes tonight and cleaned up the kitchen, he wanted to help her out a little because of all the stress that was put on her as of recent.

He had just finished putting away the last dish when Jackie came into the kitchen that night. He smiled when he saw her, "Hey sweetheart, I just finished up."

Jackie smiled forcefully, "Thank you."

He smiled back, "It was no problem. I'm glad to help out."

Jackie leaned back against the counter and crossed her arms, but she stayed silent. Dan noticed she was tense and she wanted to say something, but he'd have to have the first word.

"Something wrong?" He asked, furrowing his brow.

"Steven's daughter, Leah, she was the one that was at the door earlier," Jackie said, "She told me about what happened at school today."

"Does he have another bully?" Dan asked, figuring that's probably what it was.

Jackie nodded, "Yeah, but that wasn't all."

Dan seemed curious by this, "What else happened?"

"Well, he was tripped in class in front of everybody and apparently it really embarrassed him," Jackie explained, "Leah said he looked like he wanted to cry."

"Well, did he?" Dan asked.

"No," Jackie shook her head, "And he told Leah why he didn't."

"And why didn't he?" Dan was getting a bit impatient now.

Jackie looked him dead in the eye, nothing but anger and concern in hers, "Because he said you told him he's not allowed to."

Dan seemed surprised by this, "What?"

Jackie stepped towards her husband, "Did you tell him that? Because according to Leah, he didn't seem to think too fondly of you."

Dan was shocked, "Jackie, I'm a good father to him. I've never done anything wrong, and I certainly never told him that he wasn't allowed to show his emotions."

"Are you sure about that?" Jackie asked. She wanted to believe him, she did.

"Yes, I'm sure about that," Dan said, "I may have had a talk with him a couple of months ago on how to deal with his bullies, and I told him he needed to be a little tougher, but I never told him he wasn't allowed to be emotional."

Brandon has taken things way out of context. Maybe he just did that again.

"Are you sure that's all that happened?" Jackie asked.

Dan nodded, "Yes, I'm sure. Have I ever lied to you before?"

Jackie shook her head, "No."

"And I never would," Dan said, stepping closer to his wife, "Trust me, I love Brandon just as much as you do. We may disagree sometimes, but that's okay. Families argue, but don't think I don't love him."

Jackie smiled sweetly, "I'm sorry."

Dan wrapped his arms around her and rubbed her back soothingly, "It's alright, there's no need to apologize."

"I'm sorry," She said anyway.

Now she was back where she started. Not knowing a damn thing about what was wrong with her son.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N – It's a bit shorter than the last couple of chapters, but here's a new one for you. Thanks for reading.

Disclaimer – Read chapter one's disclaimer.

December 1, 1997

Why did we need to learn cursive writing? Anton thought as he wrote the same sentence for the fiftieth time. The only thing he'd ever need to write in cursive was his name, so why did he need to write down 'The dog swam across the pool' over and over again?

The people and things in this room were starting to annoy him. There was a boy in the back of the class who was tapping his pencil repeatedly, the class's pet rat was awake and digging around his the cage's bedding, and the teacher was chewing on her pen. There was too much noise and it was making it hard to concentrate.

Anton raised his hand.

"Yes Anton? What is it?" The teacher said, sounding as though she were annoyed. Anton was always asking questions and complaining, and to be honest, it got quite annoying after a while.

"Can you please stop chewing on your pen?" Anton asked, looking at the teacher with pleading green eyes.

The teacher sighed and nodded, "Yes Anton, I can stop chewing on my pen."

A kid behind the boy scoffed and said, "Dork."

Anton looked over his shoulder at the boy as the teacher scolded him, "Jeff, that's enough."

Jeff rolled his eyes and smiled smugly at Anton before he went back to work. Anton did the same. He started writing the sentence again, just wishing this would be over. After a minute of writing and flipping a page, he felt a light thud hit the back of his head.

He turned around and saw Jeff smiling at him and the boy mouthed, 'read it.'

Anton furrowed his brow and reached down, picking the rolled up paper ball off of the ground. He looked back at Jeff and saw the boy was still smiling at him, his hands folded over each other and resting on his desk. Anton looked towards the front of his class and made sure his teacher wasn't looking before he quietly unfolded the paper.

On the crinkled white sheet of paper was a word. A single word. Written largely and boldly. It was a word he'd heard before, and he knew what it meant, it just wasn't a word generally thrown around.

On the paper was the word 'faggot.'

His family had a dark sense of humor and it was sometimes thrown around. The word was offensive to gay people as far as Anton knew, but his family never used it in that way and it wasn't said often. Sometimes his dad would call someone he knew this word, usually Eric, but it wasn't all meant to be taken seriously. Leah said it once and his dad got onto her and told her she shouldn't get used to throwing that word around. Anton would surely never say it, but he wasn't one to look for trouble.

Anton felt hurt by this note. Jeff has always picked on him, since he first met him in the second grade. He had called him many names before, but never one like this.

"Anton, what is that you got there?" The teacher, Mrs. Applegate suddenly asked.

Anton looked up his, his eyes wide with alarm. Oh no.

"It's nothing," Anton said, balling the paper up again and trying to hide it. But Mrs. Applegate wasn't having it.

"Let me see that," She ordered gently, coming to stand in front of his desk and extending her hand for him to hand her the paper.

Anton shook his head, "No."

"No?" Mrs. Applegate asked, raising an eyebrow. Anton never said no to her, and he certainly never talked back, "Anton, give me the paper. Now."

Anton looked over his shoulder at Jeff, who was sort of smiling at him, as if to say, 'how are you going to get out of this one?'

Anton looked back up at Mrs. Applegate and she spoke again, more sternly this time, "Now."

Anton sighed and frowned, his eyes displaying fear and sadness. He gently handed the paper to the woman, who quickly unfolded it and read what was on the page. She looked down at Anton, seeming upset.

"Anton, did you write this?" She asked, hoping that he hadn't. This wasn't like him.

Anton didn't know what to do. Should he tell her the truth? If he did he'd surely get beat up. But if he didn't he'd be known as a wuss to the whole class who knew exactly who passed him the note.

Maybe they could help him though?

"It was Jeff! He did it!" Anton cried, his green eyes fearful.

"I did not! He's lying!" Jeff quickly responded, slamming his hands onto his desk and standing abruptly.

"Anton, Jeffrey, come with me. Now," Mrs. Applegate ordered.

Jeff stood first and walked past Anton, glaring at him as he passed. Anton slowly stood after Jeff passed, shaking slightly. Why was he so scared? Anton walked over to his teacher and let him pass ahead of her and follow behind Jeff as they left the classroom.

0-0-0-0-0

"So, what happened to your brother today?" Eddie asked as he sipped on his soda he just bought from a local Pizza Hut.

"Somebody called him a name," Leah responded, crushing the ice in her drink with her straw.

"It seemed pretty serious. What was he called?" Eddie asked, leaning back in his seat.

Leah didn't want to say this here in public, so she had to lean forward and whisper it to her best friend, "He was called a faggot."

Eddie's eyes widened, "Jesus! How old's your brother again?"

"He's ten," Leah responded, leaning back in her chair again.

"Damn," Eddie said, sipping on his drink again, "When I was ten, the worst word I knew was 'stupid.' I didn't start throwing that one around until at least seventh grade."

Leah smiled, "Oh yes, middle school. When we thought it was cool to cuss every other word."

Eddie smiled and nodded, "I die a little on the inside whenever I think back to those days. I was such a dork."

"You still are," Leah cracked sarcastically.

"Ha, ha, aren't you just full of jokes today," Eddie said back, smiling a tad.

Leah giggled and tried getting the rest of her soda out of her cup. She heard the bell on the door jingle, meaning someone had come in. She cast her blue eyes up and saw a familiar face. Brandon.

Leah smiled and set her drink down as the boy spotted them. She threw her hand up, "Hey Brandon, what's up?"

He looked nervous, his hands were stuffed in his pockets as he quickly approached the table, "Hi Leah, I need to talk to you."

Leah furrowed her brow, "How'd you know I was here?"

"I went by your house and your dad said you and Eddie sometimes come here after school," Brandon replied, "Please, it's urgent."

Leah nodded, "Yeah, okay. I'll be right back, Eddie."

Eddie nodded, "Alright, don't keep me waiting."

Leah rolled her eyes and followed Brandon outside away from Eddie. After they were out of the way of the door, Leah crossed her arms and looked up at her new friend, "Alright, what's up?"

Brandon sighed and looked around before he spoke, "Did you talk to my mom about what happened yesterday?"

Leah was quiet a minute before she nodded, "Yeah… Why? Is that a problem?"

Brandon nodded, looking angry now, "Yes, that's a huge problem! Now Dan's mad at me!"

"Why?" Leah asked irritably, not understanding. If his dad wasn't guilty of telling Brandon he wasn't allowed to express his feeling then he shouldn't be angry at him.

"Because he knows I told you that now!" Brandon snapped, throwing his arms about.

"Well, did he really tell you that you can't show your emotions, or are you just saying that to get attention?" Leah asked, trying to get a rise out of him. Maybe he'd open up?

"What? Why would I say that to get attention? That's ridiculous!" Brandon snapped, hardened his gaze at Leah.

"So your dad's just a dick?" Leah asked.

Brandon pointed a stern finger at Leah, "He's not my dad."

Leah seemed surprised by this, "He raised you, didn't he?"

"Yeah, if you could call what he does raising me, then yeah," Brandon said, "My real dad died when I was a baby."

Oh. She didn't know that.

"Oh," Leah said, softening her features now, "Sorry."

"Its fine, I don't even know him," Brandon said, acting as if this wasn't a big deal or even a bad thing. I guess if you don't even know your own father though it's kind of hard to miss him.

"Brandon, does your dad—Dan, does Dan yell at you?" Leah asked. The way Brandon always talked about him, not even referring to him as a father figure, it made Leah curious. She just hoped this question didn't offend him.

Brandon was quiet though. So Dan does.

"Does your mom know?" Leah asked, taking a tiny step towards Brandon.

"No," He shook his head before he pointed sternly at Leah, "I swear, if you tell my mom…"

Leah shook her head, "I won't. I won't."

She couldn't. This was a big deal. If it ever seemed to get too bad though, she'd be compelled to do something.

"Please," He said, softening his features now.

"I won't, you can trust me," Leah said, wanting him to warm to her.

Brandon nodded, but he didn't seem to believe her, "I hope so."

He had to trust her. Why else would he have told her what he had so far?

0-0-0-0-0

"Happy Birthday dear Tyler," The family sang to the four year old, "Happy birthday to you!"

Everybody cheered for him as he blew out the candles on his birthday cake, a big smile on his face. His mother kissed him on the cheek as Dan took the cake so he could cut it.

"Happy birthday, sweetheart," Jackie smiled, her hands on Tyler's small shoulders.

"Happy birthday, squirt," Brandon said, ruffling the kid's dark hair.

"Stop calling me that," The child giggled, pushing his brother's hand off of his head.

Brandon smiled at the boy as he sat back down in his chair. Jackie was happy to see him smile, she hasn't seen him do that genuinely in a while.

"Alright, the big piece goes to the birthday boy!" Dan cried happily, handing the slice of cake to his son.

Tyler grabbed his fork and quickly starting eating, frosting already smearing across his mouth and face. Jackie giggled at her son's messy eating habits as Dan continued passing cake around the table. He placed Jackie's slice down in front of her chair, but before Jackie could sit down, the phone rang.

She furrowed her brow and licked some cake frosting off of her finger before she started towards the kitchen, "I'll be right back."

Dan continued talking with his kid's and Brandon sat back in his chair silently as Jackie left the room. She went into the kitchen and grabbed the phone, answering it.

"Hello?" She greeted, curious as to who was calling at this time.

"Hey, it's Hyde," Steven's voice said quietly on the other end.

"Oh, hi Steven. What's going on?" Jackie asked curiously.

"Well, I don't really know actually," Steven replied, sounding as if he were unsure of himself, "Leah's been acting a little off tonight, it might have something to do with Brandon going to see her earlier."

"Brandon went to go see Leah earlier?" Jackie asked. This was news to her.

"Yeah. You didn't know?" Steven asked, surprised himself.

"No," Jackie shook her head, "That's odd. Why wouldn't he have told me?"

"I don't know, but he came by looking for her earlier," Steven went on, "He's seemed to be in a hurry, but he didn't tell me anything was wrong, so…"

"Well, Leah came by yesterday to talk to me," Jackie said, shrugging her shoulders, "She came to talk to me about something that happened at school. Maybe that has something to do with it."

"She came to see you?" Steven asked, "If she was having trouble at school she could've came to me."

Jackie shook her head, "No, it wasn't about her. It was about Brandon."

Steven was quiet for a second, but eventually he said, "Something's going on here."

Jackie nodded. She was back at square one, "Something's going on with him. I'm going to find out what it is."

"Do you need help?" Steven asked.

Jackie thought for a moment, biting her lip before she replied with, "That'd be great, yeah."


	4. Chapter 4

December 5, 1997

Christina Forman walked into her home after school that Friday afternoon. She had her backpack over one shoulder as she closed the door behind her. Her parents weren't home yet, both of them were still at work.

Her mother worked as a music journalist, she was actually thinking about sending an application to Rolling Stone. Working for them was her dream. Her dad didn't make as much money as she did though, of course he worked as a middle school English teacher. He enjoyed his job very much and every once in a while he'd go overseas and teach kids from foreign countries how to speak English. It was pretty cool, Christina kind of wanted to do that when she graduated.

Christina ran up to her room quickly, throwing her backpack onto her bed and closing her bedroom door. She had to get ready, she had to leave soon.

She grabbed some nicer clothes that she wasn't allowed to wear to school, or around her parents. She wouldn't even call them nice clothes. They were very revealing, but she was going to a party and she needed them. This was how college kids dressed, right?

She pulled out a short sleeved, pink, v-neck shirt and threw it on her bed along with a pair of blue skinny jeans. She quickly changed out of her school clothes and put on her party clothes that her parents didn't even knew she owned.

After she was in those she grabbed her black boots and put them on, tying them up quickly before she grabbed her black leather jacket. She fixed her hair quickly and put on some makeup before she decided she was decent to go. She had to be quick, she had to leave before her brother got home. Eddie was always such a tattle-tale, he always wanted to see her in trouble.

Christina grabbed her purse and made sure she had everything before she checked herself in the mirror one last time, then she ran downstairs quickly. She went into the kitchen and wrote a note to her parents, telling them she's staying at a friend's house for the night.

She put it on the fridge before she made her way to the front door. This was going to work, she was actually going to do this. She smiled to herself before she opened the door and made her way to her friend's house.

0-0-0-0-0

It was past seven that night and Christina was having the time of her life. She had had a few drinks and was feeling nice and warm now, she had a couple of her friends here and they were just dancing to the music and having a good time.

There were a lot of cute guys here, college guys. They were a lot cooler and less awkward than high school boys, but there was one high school boy here that Christina kind of liked. She's had her eye on him all night.

His name was Mike. He was tall and had dark hair and eyes to match. He seemed nice and outgoing and he always had a smile on his face. Christina was trying to work up the nerve to go and talk to him.

"Come on, Christi, you can do it," Her friend Barbara told her, nudging her, "He's been looking at you too, I've seen it."

"Really?" Christi asked, smiling. Has he really been looking at me? She silently asked herself.

Barbara nodded, "Yep. He's cute too, I wish he looked at me like that."

Christi smiled and looked across the room at him. He briefly looked her way and flashed her a charming smile. Christi smiled back and bravely lifted her hand, wiggling her fingers at him. To her surprise he waved back and started walking over.

"Oh my God, he's coming over," Christi panicked all of the sudden, "What do I do?"

Barbara snickered, "Calm down. Just be yourself and talk to him, it'll be fine."

"But, what if—" She was cut off from the charming voice of Mike though.

"How are you ladies doing tonight?" Mike asked, smiling sweetly down at both of them.

"Good," Barbara smiled, but she noticed Mike was only looking at Christi, "Christi's been wanting to talk to you, but she's just been nervous."

"Barb!" Christi cried, smacking her friend lightly on the arm.

Barb giggled, "I'll leave you two alone."

"Wait, no Barb…" Christi said it very quietly, so Mike didn't hear her as she tried reaching out for her friend, but she just kept walking.

"Have fun," Barn smiled, waving back at her friend smugly.

Christi then forced a nervous smile at Mike, "Hi."

This was awkward.

"Hey," Mike smiled, looking her up and down, raising his eyebrows briefly, as if approving of her look, "Nice outfit."

"Really?" Christi asked, looking down at herself, "It's not too much?"

Mike shook his head and bit his bottom lip, "Not at all."

Christi looked back up at him and smiled, but she didn't say anything else. Mike then grabbed her hand in his.

"Come on, I've got to show you something," He smiled, dragging her gently along with him.

"Okay," Christi smiled, entranced by his charm.

So she followed him into the house, where more people were partying.

0-0-0-0-0

He had taken her to his room. They've been up here for about an hour now, he was just talking with her, having general conversation about their likes and interests. He liked music, he even sang and played the guitar. That made him even sexier.

He was living at home while attending college since the school wasn't very far from here. He says his parents couldn't afford the dorm room and all that anyway, so he just got lucky.

"So, I hear you used to be a dancer," Mike said, smiling as he scooted closer to her.

Christi nodded and smiled, a little surprised he knew that, "Yeah… How'd you know that?"

"Your friend Barb told me the other day after I invited you," Mike explained, "Ballet and tap, huh?"

Christi nodded, "Yeah, it's a bit embarrassing."

"No," Mike shook his head, "It's kind of cool."

"Really?" Christi asked, surprised.

Mike nodded, "Yeah," He scooted closer, almost as close as he could get, "Really cool."

He was leaning in now, it was making Christi nervous, but also a bit excited.

"Maybe you could show me a few moves," He said quietly, Christi didn't know how to respond, so she just nodded.

Then, his lips were on hers, moving slowly and tenderly at first. She kissed him back. She's only ever kissed one other boy in her life and his name was Charlie. She still knows Charlie, they went to summer camp together back in sixth grade, she kissed him behind her cabin before bed one night. This was a lot different than that. This was a lot more advanced.

The kiss got deeper and he nibbled on her bottom lip, pushing as close he could be to her as his hands found her waist. She didn't protest. Not yet.

It wasn't until after a minute or two when he pushed her onto her back when she started to break the kiss.

"Mike," She gasped, trying to get in a good breath of air after making out for several minutes. She had her hands on his chest as he kissed her neck, but he didn't get off of her. Maybe he hadn't heard her, "Mike."

Still, nothing. She felt his hands run down her sides as his mouth moved back to hers, this time, she pushed on his shoulders a little rougher this time.

"Mike, get off of me!" She snapped, trying to get him off.

He looked down into her hazel colored eyes and said, "Come on, you just got to get the feel of it," Then he kissed her again.

"No, Mike! I said get off!" She snapped, pushing him again.

"Trust me, you're going to enjoy it," Mike said, kissing her neck again.

She felt his hands on her jeans, starting to undo the buttons. She was panicking now. What did she do? She did what she could and starting kicking and punching, she had to get him off of her somehow. One of her knees luckily hit him in the groin and he groaned and crippled on top of her, so she pushed him off of her finally.

She jumped off of his bed and quickly buttoned up her pants and grabbed her purse, looking at Mike with fearful eyes. The adrenaline in her body made her legs move faster than she thought humanly possible. She ran out of his bedroom, past a ton of people in the hall and down the stairs. She had to find Barb.

She started her search for her as soon as she made it downstairs. She called out for her, she looked through crowds of people, but she just couldn't find Barb. She had to get home and Barb was her only friend here. She couldn't drive, not after she'd had a few drinks, it wasn't her car she got here in anyway. And she didn't have any money, so she couldn't get a ride home.

That only meant one thing. She had to call her parents.

Christi made her way around the house, searching desperately for a phone, anxiously looking out for herself, making sure Mike hadn't come back for her.

Christ finally found a phone in the kitchen by the fridge and she quickly dialed her home number. Please let mom pick up, please let mom pick up. She begged.

"Hello?" It was her dad.

"Dad. Hey, it's me," Christi said, her voice shaking. Stop that, you can't tell him what happened tonight.

"Christi?" He replied, sounding nervous, "Are you okay? What's all that noise? I thought you were at Barb's house?"

Christi nodded, "I was, but… We decided to go to this party."

"What? Where are you?" Her father asked, sounding upset and worried at the same time.

"You know that little house you always say is nice? The one you want to live in? I'm there," She replied.

"The one by the park with the duck pond?" He asked.

Christi nodded, "Yeah, that's the one."

"Alright, I'll be there in ten minutes, meet me out front," Eric told her.

"Okay," Christi replied.

Then he hung up.

0-0-0-0-0

Christi only stood there for as long as her father told her to. Ten minutes. He got there quickly, a little too quickly. He was probably speeding and she wouldn't be surprised if he ran a few stop lights. As soon as he pulled up he got out of his car and approached his daughter. He looked her up and down, not seeming to approve of what she was wearing.

"Are you alright?" He asked, seeming worried first of all.

Christi nodded, "Yes, I'm fine. I just… I just had a few drinks and I'm not feeling very well. I guess I just panicked, that's all."

Eric nodded and pursed his lips, his brow furrowed before he pointed to the car and said, "Get in."

Christi nodded and stayed quiet, walking past Eric and getting into the passenger seat. Her dad got into the driver's seat a moment later and he quickly started up the car, putting it in drive and pulling out onto the road once again, driving calmer this time though.

It was quiet in the car for several minutes, Christi didn't know what to say, as she was so nervous and embarrassed, and Eric was trying to keep his anger concealed.

After about five minutes of driving in silence, Eric finally spoke, "I can't believe you'd lie to us like that."

Christi couldn't really argue, she knew she was in the wrong, "I'm sorry."

Eric nodded, "Yeah, you should be. Do you know how worried I was after you called me? I thought you were hurt! I thought something was seriously wrong!"

Christi nodded, "I know, and I'm really, really sorry, dad. I promise I won't ever do anything like this again."

"Yeah, and you won't be doing anything you're allowed to do either," Eric snapped bitterly, "No phone, no computer, no nothing for a month. You go to school, you come home. That's it. You got me?"

Christi nodded, biting her lip, trying not to cry. She wasn't used to her dad being upset with her, or upset in general. He was a relatively calm guy, "Yes. I understand."

"Good," Eric said and then they drove the rest of the way home in silence.

0-0-0-0-0

Christi went up to her room as soon as they got home. She then showered and got cleaned up before she went back to her room and read a book for a little while. She had to do something to get her mind off of what happened tonight. She was never going to a party again, that was horrible.

She hasn't spoken to her dad since they got home, he hasn't even come upstairs to check on her. She was a bit worried. Had she made him that mad?

 _Knock. Knock. Knock._

Somebody was knocking on her door. She looked over at it before she said, "Come in."

The door opened and in came her younger brother, Eddie. Ugh, what did he want?

"Hey," Eddie said, closing the door behind him and walking towards his sister on her bed.

"What do you want, Eddie?" Christi snapped irritably. She was not in the mood for his shut tonight.

"I just came to check on you," He replied honestly.

Oh.

"Dad's still pretty upset," He went on, "What happened?"

Christi looked down at her hands in her lap and shook her head, "Nothing. I don't want to talk about it."

Eddie sat on the edge of her bed, "Oh come on. You can tell me, I won't tell anyone."

"Since when can I trust you?" Christi asked, sort of glaring at her brother.

"Since I realized this is important," Eddie explained, "I can tell whatever happened is really bothering you, and if it's that bad then I know to keep my mouth shut."

Christi looked at her brother for a minute, as if looking for the truth. Was he lying? She didn't think so.

"Well, I don't really know what happened," Christi started, trying to figure out how to explain this, "I met this guy at the party. His name was Mike. He was nice and funny, we talked for about an hour or so about stupid stuff, then…"

Eddie furrowed his brow, "Then what?"

Christi released a nervous breath before she started again, "Then he kissed me. And, it was fine at first, but… I don't know…"

She didn't really want to tell him this.

"What did he do?" Eddie asked, seeming a little worried, but there was a hint of anger in his voice.

Christi sighed and looked at her brother, "Put the pieces together, Eddie!"

Eddie jumped up, "He… He didn't do that to you did he?"

Christi shook her head, "No, I stopped him before he got too far. But if I had had a few more drinks then it would have been worse."

Eddie looked a little pissed off now, "What's his name? Mike you said?"

Christi nodded, "Mike Parnell."

"I'm gonna kick his ass!" Eddie snapped, his fists clenched.

"No, Eddie, don't!" Christi cried, jumping up off of her bed, grabbing his arm.

"Why not? After what he tried to do to you he deserves it!" Eddie snapped.

Christi shook her head, "Just… Don't do anything. Please. Don't."

Eddie looked into his sister's hazel colored eyes, seeing the pleading in them. He sighed, "I'll try. But I can't promise anything."

"Thank you," Christi forced a smile, but her eyes still showed fear and sadness.

Eddie nodded. He didn't really know what else to say, so he just turned on his heel and headed for the door, but before he left he said one more thing, "If you need anything, just tell me."

Christi nodded and smiled sweetly, "I will. Thanks, Eddie."

Then he left her room, leaving her standing there all by herself.

0-0-0-0-0

December 8, 1997

That Monday, Christi had told Barb about what happened, knowing she could trust her best friend to keep a secret. She was pissed when she told her, of course, but she swore not to do anything. The day had gone well until about two o'clock, about an hour before school let out.

People starting looking at her funny, some giggling and some whispering. What was going on? She didn't know until a girl called McKenzie came up to her. McKenzie was a bitch. Plain and simple. She was on the volleyball team and was a typical blonde who had all the guys at her heels and she thought she was the queen of the world.

"Hey Christi, I heard what happened," The girl said as she stopped in front of the dark haired girl.

"Y-you did?" Christi asked. Eddie spilled the beans didn't he? She's going to have to kill him now.

"Yeah," McKenzie smiled, "I knew you were slutty, I just didn't think you'd be giving it away for free."

Christi shook her head, "What? No, I didn't sleep with him. Who told you that?"

McKenzie smiled, "Well, Brian did, of course. He is my boyfriend."

"And who told Brian?" Christi asked, tightening her nervous grasp on her books.

"Mike. Who else?" McKenzie giggled, flipping her hair and walking back over to her flock of friends.

Mike told everyone that she slept with him? Christi didn't know whether to be angry or cry. So she did both. She dropped her books and ran to the bathroom, sobbing.

"Christi?" A familiar voice called as she ran away, but Christi didn't stick around long enough to hear what they had to say, it was probably another asshole coming to make fun of her.

Christi ran into one of the stalls in the bathroom and sat down on the toilet, just letting herself cry. Why would he tell everyone that? Why would he start such a horrible rumor?

She only sat there for a minute before she heard the voice speak again, "Christi?"

Christi sniffled and cried, "Go away!"

"Christi," The girl's voice said again as two converse clad feet made themselves visible under the stall door, "Are you okay?"

"No, now leave me alone!" She snapped, breaking down into sobs again.

The girl on the other side refused to leave though, "I heard about what happened. I know it's not true."

"How do you know that?" Christi spat, "What if I am just a whore?"

"I know you," The other girl said, "You're not like those other girls. You won't just sleep with some guy you've barely said three words to… Please, come out. I just want to talk."

Christi grabbed some toilet paper from beside her to wipe her nose and eyes with, then she stood. She unlocked the stall door and stepped out into the open. The girl on the other side was her brother's best friend, Leah.

"Mike's a jerk," Was the first thing Christi said face to face.

Leah nodded and watched as Christi made her way over to the mirror to fix her makeup, "I know. Karma will come back to bite him in the ass, I know it."

"I hope so," Christi said, dabbing her eyes with the tissue.

Leah stepped over to her best friend's sister. Her eyes were pink and puffy, she was gently dabbing them with the tissue in her fingers.

"You can come over to my place, if you want," Leah suggested, a sweet smile on her face, "Maybe we could watch a movie or something, anything to get your mind off of this."

Christi looked over at Leah, her hazel colored eyes sad, "Really? I wouldn't be a burden?"

Leah made a face and shook her head, "Oh come on, you know me. I don't do anything ever. I'm not busy, so come on. It'll be fun."

Christi finally smiled and nodded, "Okay, if you insist."

0-0-0-0-0

Christi decided she would tell Leah what really happened. She told her the whole story. About how nice Mike seemed, how they talked for at least an hour about useless things, and then about how things escalated for the worse.

Leah seemed upset about it all, and Christi had to beg her not to confront him about this. She didn't want to get Leah tangled up in this either.

It was a little while later that it was time to go home, so Christi and Leah headed outside and waited for Steven to come and pick them up.

"Christi!" A voice called as the two girls waited there. They both looked over and saw Eddie approaching them, seeming out of breath.

"Eddie? Are you alright?" Leah asked, stepping a bit towards him.

Eddie nodded, "Yeah, I was just getting chased by some assholes. I think I lost 'em. Where are you going?"

"I'm going to Leah's house," Christi said, hugging herself tightly, "I just need some girl time."

Eddie just nodded, not questioning her any further. He needed to give her some space, she needed it after what she's been through these past few days.

"Alright, I'll tell dad," He replied.

Christi nodded, "Thank you."

As Eddie started walking away Christi tensed up. Mike just walked out of the school, surrounded by several of his friends. Christi watched him in silent fear and a whole lot of anger until he got closer to her. She looked down as he started passing her by, and he spotted her.

He was smiling and laughing as his friends told jokes. Eddie noticed his sister and how afraid she looked, and he glared at Mike. How dare he stand there, able to laugh and smile after what he did to her. And even after what he tried to do, he spread rumors that—He didn't even want to think about all of that. So he acted on his feelings instead.

In one swift movement, Eddie clenched his fists, swung one forward, and hit Mike right in the nose. Mike went crashing to the ground as several gasps were heard around the them. Eddie didn't care about all of them though. No matter what everybody else thought, Mike deserved that. He deserves many horrible things.

Christi stared at her brother in shock as he shook out his throbbing hand. Leah smiled and nodded her head in approval.

As Mike sat up a little and wiped the blood trickling from his nose, he glared up at Eddie, "What the hell?!"

Eddie just glared and pointed a stern finger at him, "I won't be so easy next time."

"What the hell did I ever do to you?!" Mike asked, as if Eddie was in the wrong here.

"That's my sister," Eddie snapped, pointing at Christi, "You figure it out."

Mike widened his eyes as Eddie began to walk away, only to be stopped by a stern hand in his shoulder. He stopped in his tracks and looked up to meet eyes with his father.

"Eddie? What the hell do you think you're doing?" Eric asked him, looking disappointed.

Eddie opened his mouth to speak, but was quickly cut off by Christi, "Dad, it's not his fault."

Eric looked over at his daughter, a look of confusion written all over his face, "What are you talking about? I just watched him punch a guy in the face."

"Yeah, I didn't do anything!" Mike cried, finally standing.

Eddie glared and lifted his fist, "Want another one, pretty boy?"

Mike flinched a little and Eric squeezed Eddie's shoulder hard, making the teen tense, "What the hell is going on here?"

"Dad, just let Eddie go. I'll explain everything soon, let's just… Let's just go home. I'll explain there," Christi said, grabbing her dad's arm.

Eric looked down at his daughter and after a moment, he nodded, "Okay, fine. Get in the car, both of you."

The two started past their father as he asked Mike if he was okay. Christi looked over her shoulder at Leah, who just smiled and waved, silently wishing her good luck.

0-0-0-0-0

Eric listened to the whole story. He heard everything she had to say. And when she was finished, boy was he angry. How could someone do something like this to his little girl? The very thought of it infuriated him. He was going to kill him.

Christi had to calm him down, she made him sit down and talk it out. She didn't want him getting in trouble, he just needed to let her handle this. She could do that, right?

Later that night, probably around nine o'clock, Eric and Donna were both on the couch watching TV, but Eric still couldn't think of anything else besides what he was told earlier. He told Donna about it, and she was equally as upset. Both of them were worried to let either of their kids leave the house now, but what could they do? They weren't five or six anymore, they were seventeen and fifteen. They were almost adults, and they had to learn how to deal with things on their own, how else would they learn? But it still upset both parents that they couldn't control what they did anymore.

Christi was making ice cream in the kitchen when there was a knock on the door, her brother was sitting at the table doing some last minute homework when he heard it.

He looked back at Christi and raised an eyebrow, "Who the hell is knocking on the door at nine o'clock at night?"

Christi shrugged as her brother stood, telling he'd go and see. She only stood there at the counter for a few seconds when she heard her brother's angry voice. Great.

She turned and jogged to the door, eager to see what was going on. When she got there she saw that jackass on the front porch.

"Christi!" He cried when he saw her, "Please, I need to talk to you."

Christi seemed fearful. She didn't want to talk to him. Why was he here? How did he know where she lived? Did somebody tell him? Did he look her up? That was kind of creepy.

"What the hell are you doing here? What do you want?" Eddie snapped, glaring at the older boy.

"I just needed to see Christi," Mike tried, but Eddie wasn't having it.

"What? Getting beat up by a freshman once wasn't enough?" Eddie asked, his brown eyes crazed.

"Please, just let me see her," Mike pleaded.

"It's okay, Eddie," Christi eased, stepping forward and opening the door a little wider, "What do you want, Mike?"

"I just want to explain what happened today," Mike said, seeming nervous.

"Okay, go on then," Christi ordered.

Mike looked over at her brother and said, "Alone?"

Christi looked up at her brother and then back at Mike before she shook her head, grabbing Eddie's sleeve and pulling him closer, "No, he stays. Now talk."

"Yeah, talk," Eddie snapped, making Christi have the urge to roll her eyes, but she suppressed it.

"Alright, fine," Mike started, "I don't know why I started the rumor today, honestly. I feel so stupid about it and—"

"No, I want to know why you did what you did the other day, at the party," Christi snapped, "That's the part I'm concerned about."

Mike was silent for a minute, but then he shrugged slightly and said, "I was drunk and stupid. Please forgive me."

"That's it?" Christi snapped, feeling nothing but anger right now, "You were drunk and stupid?"

Mike opened his mouth to speak, but Eddie beat him to it, feeling like the guy needed a good threat, "Hey, you seem like a somewhat smart guy. What do you think it feels like to get hit in the head forty to fifty times with a tire iron?"

Mike gulped, more nervous than ever now, "Please, just hear me out."

Eddie shook his head, "No, I think we've heard enough of your bullshit, so if you could kindly fuck off…"

Eddie sort of shooed him off of the porch, taking a few threatening steps towards him. Mike decided he should leave, if he pestered them any longer he'd probably get his ass kicked. So he bounced off the steps and got out of there as quickly as possible.

Eddie turned back towards his sister and they both went back inside, closing the door behind them, "Are you okay?"

Christi nodded, feeling the tears well up in her hazel eyes, "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine."

"Do you want me to go get dad?" Eddie asked, feeling sympathy for his sister.

"There's no need," Eric suddenly spoke, garnering the attention of Eddie as tears spilled down Christi's face, "Christi? Are you okay?"

Christi shook her head finally and turned towards her dad, walking straight into his arms. It's been years since he's held her like this. She used to run to him when she was a little girl when she was afraid of the monsters in her closet, this was sort of the same thing, except this time very real.

Eric hugged his daughter in the doorway for he doesn't know how long, but he just let her cry and like he promised her after she was born, he was never going to leave her side.


End file.
